Candidates

We're at the point where any San Diego Chargers victory can be summarized in two words. This goes back to Nov. 19, when between updates I saw a 24-7 San Diego deficit against Denver turn into a 35-27 Chargers victory and I text-messaged a friend to ask what happened. My buddy's reply: "LT happened." Flash-forward to Sunday, when the Chargers had to deal with a strong Oakland Raiders defensive effort, a shaky performance by quarterback Philip Rivers and a 14-7 Raiders lead in the fourth quarter.

Gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari, who is trailing badly in the polls, said Sunday that former President George W. Bush, 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney and other Republican leaders are aiding his campaign. "A lot of people nationally have been helping," he told reporters after speaking to a Republican women's convention in Orange. "[Former Florida Gov.] Jeb Bush has been helping, [former Indiana Gov.] Mitch Daniels has given a lot of advice on economy policy. "President Bush has been very helpful and made calls and opened doors," Kashkari said.

That's about 40 down and about 37 to go. Candidates , that is -- candidates for city, school board and community college offices in the March 3 Los Angeles election. The Los Angeles Times editorial board this week hit about the halfway mark in interviewing candidates who are seeking its endorsement. Time is tight. With the November election right behind us, we began interviewing candidates in December , gave ourselves a three-day break after New Year's Day, and then picked up the pace.

On the biggest political stage of the election season in California, the 17 candidates competing to succeed Rep. Henry Waxman struggled to stand out Sunday at a forum that was long on issues and short on time. Some common priorities emerged among those hoping to occupy the seat that Waxman, a Beverly Hills Democrat, is giving up after four decades: traffic woes and public transportation needs, ways to improve public education and a desire to get special-interest money out of politics - espoused even by some with the biggest war chests.

Candidates seeking to replace Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky offered competing views on how to cut carbon emissions, clean storm water, replenish local water sources and lure more Angelenos out of their cars during a wide-ranging debate on environmental issues. The four competitors invited to Saturday night's debate sponsored by the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters agreed that whoever replaces Yaroslavsky on the Board of Supervisors should be a strong regional guardian of the environment.

I had a spiral notebook on my lap open to a page with the names of the four City Council candidates for District 7, and as I was listening to Felipe Fuentes speak -- last Saturday at a candidates' forum in the wonderfully funky hillside community of Tujunga -- I drew a line through his name. Fuentes is an amiable guy and I like him, but I also have to give serious thought to which of the four candidates would best serve the city and the district on the council, and I have to make an endorsement recommendation to my colleagues on the Los Angeles Times editorial board, all of whom will weigh in with their own thoughts and comments before we pick whom to endorse.

Candidates seeking to replace Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky offered competing views on how to cut carbon emissions, clean storm water, replenish local water sources and lure more Angelenos out of their cars during a wide-ranging debate on environmental issues. The four competitors invited to Saturday night's debate sponsored by the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters agreed that whoever replaces Yaroslavsky on the Board of Supervisors should be a strong regional guardian of the environment.

CAIRO -- The only candidate running for president against Egypt's former military chief, Abdel Fattah Sisi, has reportedly said that if elected he would put Sisi on trial in connection with the deaths of hundreds of protesters. "I don't treat Sisi as a criminal, but I plan to bring him to court …. When I do this, I aim to heal wounds without opening up new confrontations," candidate Hamdeen Sabahi was quoted as saying by the Egyptian news outlet Youm7 on Friday. Sabahi's campaign denied the comments were his. But Youm7 posted an audio recording of a voice that sounded much like the candidate.

DURHAM, Ore. - Oregon officials voted unanimously Friday to jettison the state's disastrous health insurance exchange and switch to the federal system, admitting disappointment and defeat in an arena where the state had been a trailblazer. With its 7-0 vote, the board of directors for Cover Oregon acknowledged that the state exchange was too expensive and too troubled to fix. Although the state has spent an estimated $248 million to get the operation up and running, it never enrolled a single private insurance customer online.

SACRAMENTO - Energized by Capitol scandals, four candidates for California secretary of state clashed in a forum Wednesday over which one is best suited to restore voter faith in state government. Candidates Alex Padilla, Dan Schnur, Pete Peterson and Derek Cressman also criticized each other's ideas for reducing the corrupting influence of big money in state government. Three other candidates were not invited to participate in the forum by the Sacramento Press Club. With three senators suspended while facing criminal charges and his campaign holding a big lead in fundraising, Democratic Sen. Padilla found himself the target of attacks from the other candidates who said his proposals for tougher ethics rules are too little, too late.

SACRAMENTO - It has come to this: California politics have become so one-sided that the only half-way intriguing statewide races this spring are for two largely ministerial jobs. One is secretary of state. The other is state controller. Both are pretty mundane. The secretary of state oversees elections and maintains public databases on campaign contributions and lobbyists' spending. The office also processes a lot of business-related stuff. Sounds simple. But under termed-out Democrat Debra Bowen, few things seemingly have been simple.

A Green Party candidate for secretary of state is planning to crash a debate Wednesday in Sacramento, after he and two other contenders were excluded from the event. This is oddly amusing for a couple of reasons. First, when has there ever been so much interest in the race for secretary of state? It's a job that largely involves overseeing election procedures and managing various business and political filings. Second, David Curtis, the Green Party candidate who was not invited to the debate, recently placed higher in a Field Poll voter survey than two other candidates who were invited to debate.

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, taking a broadening role in efforts to help candidates of his party, on Wednesday endorsed former state legislator Tony Strickland, the Strickland campaign announced. The former state assemblyman and state senator is running in the June 3 primary for the Los Angeles-area seat being vacated by Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), who is retiring when his term expires. McKeon already has endorsed Strickland, one of several Republican candidates in the GOP-leaning 25th Congressional District.